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507 results for "carbon dioxide"
How Finland's giant sand battery is storing clean energy (and cutting emissions by 70 percent)
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a small Finnish town with a big climate goal, an unassuming tower of sand is quietly storing solar and wind energy all while making a powerful statement about clean tech innovation. Pornainen, in southern Finland, is now home to the world’s largest Read More...
Podcast Transcript June 20, 2025: Burial reefs and dissolving plastics: hopeful headlines for our oceans
Episode Description: This week on The Optimist Daily’s Weekly Roundup, Arielle and Karissa dive into ocean-inspired solutions. From sea moss superfoods and memorial reefs that turn human ashes into coral habitats to breakthrough plastics that dissolve in seawater and soil without leaving a Read More...
A splash of good news for oceans: new plastic dissolves in seawater in just hours
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a world drowning in plastic, scientists in Japan may have found a lifeline. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo have developed a new type of plastic that can dissolve in seawater within hours without Read More...
What trees can teach us about volcanoes: a new view from space
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The next time a volcano begins to stir, the first signs might come not from smoke or rumbling earth, but from the trees nearby. According to a new NASA-Smithsonian study, trees growing near volcanoes become visibly greener as underground magma releases carbon Read More...
A new way to stack bricks could help clean Bangladesh’s air
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In the cool, dry winters of Bangladesh, the country’s 8,000-plus brick kilns roar to life. Coal-fed and open-air, they bake nearly 30 million bricks annually, filling the skies with thick black smoke in the process. But a new study has found that a few Read More...
Podcast Transcript May 23, 2025: The science of a sincere “sorry” and Boise’s geothermal energy solution
Episode Description: What makes an apology feel sincere? Hint: it’s in your syllables. This week, Arielle and Karissa dig into the psychology of saying sorry, celebrate Boise’s bold geothermal energy system, and share other global solutions that are heating things up (in the best way). The Read More...
How Boise, Idaho is heating hundreds of buildings with clean geothermal energy
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In Boise, Idaho, being in hot water is a good thing — especially when it comes to how the city keeps warm. Home to hundreds of natural hot springs, Boise has tapped into the geothermal potential beneath its feet, creating the largest municipally operated Read More...
Butter made from air? This startup is spreading carbon-conscious innovation
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Imagine this: you reach for your morning toast, swipe on a glossy, golden spread, and savor that creamy richness. But surprise — there were no cows, no crops, and definitely no pastures involved. Welcome to the era of butter made from air. This culinary Read More...
Splitting seawater could revolutionize cement into a carbon-negative material
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In the race to tackle climate change, cement has long been a stubborn problem. Responsible for about eight percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, it’s the fourth-largest source of CO2 pollution worldwide. But a team of researchers believes a new, Read More...
Tiny sparks, massive implications: how water droplets may have ignited life on earth
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Could the origin of life have begun not with a bolt from the blue but with something far smaller? According to a new study from Stanford University, tiny electrical sparks known as "microlightning," created by interactions between water droplets, may have Read More...